Arts & Culture

Details: Written by: Greg Letts; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 25 July 2025

On a nippy Thursday night in July, my partner and I threaded our way through the Perth Cultural Centre renovations and arrived at the Heath Ledger Theatre for Jonathan Biggins' The Gospel According to Paul.

As someone who became old enough to vote in the late 1980's but who wasn't particularly political, the names of Keating, Hawke, Peacock, and Howard float around in my head linked to caricature-like impressions of the men themselves – Bob Hawke's larrikinism, Andrew Peacock's hair (and tan!), John Howard's eyebrows, and of course, Paul Keating's suits, arrogance, and devasting zingers. So I was looking forward to a little nostalgia and a bit of a peek under the hood of one of Australia's most memorable politicians.

Details: Written by: Nita Teoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 20 July 2025

On a gorgeous sunny Saturday, I wandered down Oxford St looking forward to watching “The Friend” at Luna Leederville with a few friends.

Being a lover of dogs, the movie trailer caught my attention as all dog movies do!

The story revolves around the main character Iris (Naomi Watts) living in a pet-free New York apartment, who reluctantly takes on a Great Dane by the name of Apollo (played by Bing) when her close friend and mentor Walter (Murray) passes unexpectedly and bequeaths his dearest and best fido friend to her.

Apollo is quite a character and suffering from grief himself of the loss of his dear master, and along with Iris not being a dog person and living in a small apartment together, it causes all kinds of challenging issues for the pair as they temporarily settle into life together.

Though The Friend has some funny moments scattered throughout, it also tackles some serious issues about coping with grief when you lose a close friend and how Iris continues to explore the challenges of her writing career as a novelist amidst disruption and change in her life.

Details: Written by: Greg Letts; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 03 July 2025

On a sunny but chilly Saturday morning, my partner and I headed down to Luna Leederville to check out the latest offering from director Roshan Sethi, A Nice Indian Boy. The trailer had promised an endearingly awkward rom-com with a touch of Bollywood thrown in, so we were looking forward to a few laughs along the way to a feel-good happy ending.

And A Nice Indian Boy certainly delivered all that during its 1 hour 36 minutes run time, with all the familiar beats about being a gay man in a traditional Indian family and the chaos ensuing from unexpectedly bringing home a white partner who was raised by Indian parents, but we were pleasantly surprised to experience the warm emotional vibe underpinning the whole process.

When perpetually single Naveen Gavaskar (Karan Soni) meets Jay Kurundakar at his temple and then at work the next day, these chance encounters spark off a whirlwind love affair.

Details: Written by: Nita Teoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 30 June 2025

On a coolish evening my partner and I headed down Stirling Highway to Windsor Cinema to watch the preview of Grande Maison Paris.

The trailer had attracted my attention as my favourite genre of French films and my love for Japanese cuisine are both satisfied by this movie.

The story revolves around Natsuki Obana (Takuya Kimura), a Japanese born chef living in Paris who is resolutely determined to win a Michelin 3 star rating for his restaurant.

But alas, a number of problems involving him, his staff and their venue all rear their head and place hurdles in the way of achieving his dream.

Obana's management style leaves a lot to be desired, his pastry chef Rick Yuan (Ok Taec-yeon of Kpop boy band 2pm) owes money to thugs and is being beaten up regularly, and his sous chef Rinko Hayami (Kyôka Suzuki) appears to have lost her touch. On top of that they are being threatened with eviction from their premises. Can Obana bring everyone together in time to win that coveted 3rd star?

Details: Written by: Nita Teoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 20 June 2025

As my partner and I headed to the State Theatre Centre of WA, we were looking forward to watching “Never Have I Ever” by Black Swan State Theatre Company.

Sitting at the Heath Ledger Theatre with its beautiful wooden panelling just before a show begins is always a special pleasure, and gave us time to appreciate the set put together by Set & Costume Designer Bryan Woltjen.

Four characters – Kas (Deep Sroa) and Jacq (Emily Rose Brennan), a couple living their dream running a unique restaurant backed by their investor friends, the wealthy married duo of Tobin (Will O’Mahony) and Adaego (Ratidzo Mambo).

They come together for a dinner party that starts out rather tentatively with Kas and Jacq having to break the bad news of an insolvent restaurant.

The evening spirals into sheer madness as individuals collide with their different points of view, shared history of university days, infidelity, sexual adventures and more.

Details: Written by: Lee-Ann Khoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 01 June 2025

Colour me intrigued when I was asked to review "How the KKK Saved the Day". After all, when you call your show something as bold as that, you’re setting certain expectations.

The other point of interest – and a disclaimer we should probably get out of the way early – is that Perth Walkabout editor Nita Teoh is performing in this run. Despite that, if I hated the show, I could still find a way to say so, just as politely as possible.

Fortunately, there was no need for my flowery criticism. From the moment we are introduced to the land of Ku Kluxtopia – courtesy of Milton (played by Chewe Nkole) gyrating in whiteface like the star of a reverse minstrel show – the audience is treated to an edgy 90-minute truth bomb.

Details: Written by: Nita Teoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 17 March 2025

On a sunny Saturday, I headed along Oxford St to Luna Leederville to meet some friends and watch the documentary Every Little Thing by Australian film maker Sally Aitken.

Every Little Thing follows typical days in the life of Los Angeles resident Terry Masear in her humble pursuit of saving precious hummingbirds who have been injured in their habitat. She receives hundreds of calls from local residents who find distressed chicks and mothers in their travels and often right in their own backyard.

These tiny creatures come in an amazing array of colours – their plumage iridescent with beautiful shimmering light effects - all beautiful and unique in their own way. Terry tends them with loving kindness to restore them back to good health, with the aim of hopefully returning them back to nature.

This documentary is heartfelt across many levels - as well as learning what is involved with rescuing a hummingbird, Terry lives and breathes her all consuming passion of rehabilitating hummingbirds, knowing all the personality quirks and challenges of each of her feathered residents.

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The Gospel according to Paul by Black Swan State Theatre Company

The Friend at Luna

A Nice Indian Boy at Luna

Grand Maison Paris at Luna

Never Have I Ever by Black Swan State Theatre Company

How the KKK Saved the Day at The Blue Room Theatre

Every Little Thing at Luna